Heat exchanger



April 17, 1934. w; TRYON ET AL 1,955,261

HEAT EXCHANGER Filed Jan. 25. 1932 Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES HEAT EXCHANGER Richard W. Tryon, Elizabeth, N. J., and Johannes 0. F. Helle, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors to Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of Delaware Application January 23, 1932, Serial No. 588,260

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in heat exchange apparatus for use in the cracking of hydrocarbons into lower boiling products, the

' distillation of oils without substantial cracking, as in pipe stills, and in general where effective heat exchange and ease of cleaning are essential requirements. The invention will be fully understood fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing the sole figure of which is a perspective elevation view of the heat exchanger.

Referring to the drawing, the heat exchanger 7 is composed of a plurality of pipes, preferably about two hundred in number, arranged in parallel'layers and composed of two sections 34 and 35 consisting of ten layers of ten pipes in each layer. The dividing line between these sections is marked A-A.

The pipes are of a suitable metal, such as steel alloy, and preferably about twenty feet in length. The pipes are arranged in a suitable heat transfer metal such as aluminum or copper which is cast in sections around the tubes. The metal around the tubes is cast in blocks 34a and 35a, preferably of about two feet in length and covering two layers of five pipes each; a total of ten pipes being covered in each block. Spaces 34b and 35b are left between each block to take care of the unequal expansion rate of the metal alloy pipes and the heat transfer metal. The spaces between the blocks are obtained in the casting process by setting up cores in the mold as well known in the casting practice.

The hot vapors enter a manifold or terminal header 28 and are divided into five parts. The five separate parts pass into five pipes 27 of the bottom layer of section 35. The vapors pass through the pipes 27 to the opposite end and by five return bends 29 are passed into five pipes of the next upper layer of pipes, passing through this layer of pipes and to the layer above by means of return bends 29 and so on until the vapors pass through the top layers of pipes. Thevapors from the five pipes of the top layer of pipes are passed into a manifold or intermediate header 30 communicating with five pipes of the top layer of the next section 34 and by suitable arrangement of return bends 29 is passed successively through the alternate pipes of each layer until the 0 'vapors are passed out of the bottom layer of pipes through pipes 27a to a terminal header 31.

The relatively cool oil enters a manifold 32 and is divided into five parts. The five separate parts pass intofive pipes 33 of the bottom layer of section 34 and through headers 29 through each layer of pipes to manifold 32', to section 35 and down through each layer of pipes to manifold 36. The pipes are arranged in layers with one pipe being used to pass the vapors from the heat exchanger and the adjacent pipes of the same ment.

layer being used to pass cool oil into the heat exchanger. This arrangement of alternate pipes one for passing hot vapors in one direction through the exchanger and the next pipe of the layer for passing cool oil in the opposite direction through the heat exchanger is followed throughout the arrangement of the whole heat exchanger. Cool oil is passed-through five alternate pipes of the bottom layer of the heat exchanger where vapors are passed through five different alternate pipes of the same layer. Preheated oil is passed out of five pipes of the bottom layer of one section, where hot vapors are passed into the alternate five pipes of the same layer. In a layer of ten pipes, cool oil is passed through five pipes in one direction, while the hot vapors are passed in the opposite direction in five alternate pipes of the same layer of pipes. The cool liquid flows in a direction countercurrent to the hot vapors in alternate pipes of each layer.

The above description is given for purpose of illustration only and it is not intended to limit the invention to any particular number or arrangement of pipes in the heat exchanger.

The use of a plurality of straight tubes to pass the vapors rapidly. through the heat exchanger avoids the excessive deposition of carbon when the heat exchanger is used in a cracking equip- The pipes of the heat exchanger are accessible for the removal of carbon deposits by removing the return bends or headers on the ends of the pipes. v

These and other advantages of the invention are not necessarily dependent upon the specific details of the construction and operation described and various changes and alternative arrangements may be made within the scope of the appended claim, in which it .is our intention to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

We claim:

A heat exchanger composed of two series of .a plurality of substantially parallel tubes embedded in several sections in a suitable heat transfer metal. the tubes of each series being intercon- 105 nected and arranged in such manner that the tubes of the first series alternate with the tubes of the second series in a plane, while the tubes overlying each other vertically to said plane all belong to the same series, and inlet and outlet 110 headers for both series connecting in parallel a number of tubes of the same series.

RICHARD W. TRYON. JOHANNES O. F. HELLE. 

